


Feeling Something Painful

by ShandyCandy278



Series: Ink Gets a Soul [6]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ALMOST Character Death, Ink Has A Soul, Ink gets a soul, M/M, Merging, Near character death, Oops, Teleportation, Threats, but they almost do, no one actually dies, so I figured I'd use the archive warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25128271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShandyCandy278/pseuds/ShandyCandy278
Summary: Nightmare wants to 'chat'. Ink would much rather leave.
Relationships: Errink, Error/Ink, Ink/Error, technically - Relationship
Series: Ink Gets a Soul [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1599916
Comments: 24
Kudos: 176





	Feeling Something Painful

**Author's Note:**

> Uh... sorry? But not sorry.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!

It was unexpected.

But, in all honesty- all life-changing things were.

His bare feet slid across the snow as he almost tripped over himself taking a sharp turn- his breaths labored and the month-old soul in his chest tight and beating harshly with the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Not even moments later, Nightmare followed- his grin stretched wide across his face. The shadows nearby curled and grow, 

“Oh, come on, Ink- aren’t you tired of running away?” He asked. Ink managed to keep the distance between them constant, but he knew he couldn’t run forever. “Why don’t we just…  _ talk?” _

“Haha,” He laughed, breathless as his soul pounded with the fear and negativity that Nightmare exhumed. “No thanks! I’m good!”

“Are you sure?” Nightmare asked, his voice echoing as he merged into the shadows and then reappeared in front of Ink. Ink skidded to a halt and tried to run away, but a single tendril wrapped around his leg, forcing him to fall and get a face full of snow. The tentacle lifted him up in the air, hanging him upside down. Broomy thudded against the snow, rolling a little down the slight slope before stopping. “Aren’t you tired of playing this game of cat and mouse, Guardian?”

“Game?” He asked with an awkward laugh as he wiggled- trying to get back down and grab Broomy. “I didn't realize we were playing one!”

“Stop playing oblivious.” Nightmare’s grin grew, and the area around them seemed to grow darker. “I just have a few…  _ questions.” _

“What? And you think I have answers?”

“Considering that it was  _ you _ who got a soul out of seemingly nowhere, yes. I do.”

“Oh.”

Nightmare hummed, his grin growing. “But, perhaps, this place doesn’t best suit our needs for a proper conversation.”

… Ink suddenly had the feeling that the 'conversation' wasn’t actually a conversation.

“No, no-” He let out a small laugh as he continued to struggle against Nightmare. “I’m good! Here is fine! In fact, it’s perfect!”

“Hmm- well, I’m afraid that I don’t agree with you.” He let out a chuckle so deep that it spoke of the horrors he had in mind. Ink really just wanted to mel-

Oh yeah! He can do that!

He swiftly transformed into a puddle of ink and reappeared a ways away from Nightmare, picking up his brush.

“Yeah, well- if we have such varying opinions, clearly we just- shouldn’t talk!” Instantly Nightmare’s grin morphed into a scowl, and the shadows around them grew even more darker and threatening.

“I’m giving you  _ one chance, _ Ink.” He said- his voice so serious that Ink almost asked himself if Nightmare had ever had a day of just fun in his whole life. “If you come with me, willingly and without a fuss-” The grin came back. “-you will be given  _ some  _ mercy.”

“Yeah, sorry-” He twirled his brush before painting the ground beneath him, preparing to teleport. “The answer is no-”

He didn't expect the tentacle to shoot at him. It was so fast it felt like it was happening in slow motion- but the next thing he knew he was being slammed into the tree trunk.

“No mercy it is then.”

It took a few moments for Ink to regain his bearings, but when he did he only just barely managed to dodge the next tentacle that was shot at him- one that would have impaled him. He scrambled on the snow to move- dodging the next one.

He needed to leave. Now.

But whenever he tried to teleport, a tendril would appear to slap him away. At one point he resorted to simply running and trying to find a place to hide- but no matter where he went, Nightmare was there.

By the time Nightmare had finally caught him, he was exhausted and covered in bruises and cuts. Nightmare appeared to be eternally pleased with this fact, but Ink wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction.

So when Nightmare picked him up, he used the liquid negativity to teleport to a different world. 

Normally it was the other way around- with him teleporting to the world Nightmare was in through Nightmare, not try to use him to teleport to a different world.

He also didn't normally have a soul.

The whole experience felt wrong- it was like he was actually  _ merging _ with Nightmare. For a brief moment, he thought he would- but he didn't want to do that, and his soul seemed to listen- keeping him and Nightmare separate. But there was one part where they almost did- their souls right next to each other, beating in near harmony. 

He could feel what Nightmare was feeling and see what he was seeing- and he could feel his own ink sink into their- Nightmare’s goop, feeling like a fungus that crawled all over him and nearly combining with him. Their- Nightmare’s mouth opened, and he let out a furious, rage-filled scream that shook the cavern above. It felt so wrong-  _ too _ wrong- enough so that Ink swore that he would never do this again. 

He wanted out, he wanted to leave, he didn't want to stay here, he wanted this feeling to go away, he wanted to get rid of it,  _ get rid of it,  _ **_get rid of it, GET RID OF I-_ **

A single tentacle raised. If Ink was physical he would have gasped. It shot at their chest, at their soul- wanting to pry them apart.

_ Crack. _

Ink shot out of Nightmare’s back, flying a short distance before crashing into a tree trunk and falling into the snow. He couldn’t see, couldn’t feel- his whole body felt as though it was filled to the very top with unimaginable  _ pain- _ so much so that when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t even find it in himself to scream. His eyelights managed to flicker to life, and all he saw was a mass of goopy black negativity- moving and shifting around in distress. Ink managed to blink a few times, his vision fuzzy and spinning. There was a ringing sound in his skull, and he could only just barely hear a sound of static from nearby.

“Ink!” A familiar voice exclaimed, almost indistinguishable with how loud the ringing was. Black, red, blue, and yellow entered his vision as something moved his body, lifting it from the ground. Whoever it was shook him a little, and for a few moments his vision blacked out. “Ink! Can you hear me?!”

It was a question, he knew. A question he needed to answer. But for the life of him, he couldn’t focus enough to hear what was asked. His vision came back a few moments after the shaking had stopped, and when he did it took a few moments for him to make out who the fuzzy swirl of colors was.

“... Er’or…” The vision of black, red, yellow, and blue was interrupted by grey. He frowned at it, confused. What was that?

“No, no, no-” Error shifted him around some more, sending blinding shots of pain across Ink’s body as he was lifted from the ground. “No no no- Ink! You stay with me, you hear?!”

The noise was unintelligible. He couldn’t make out any of it. He struggled to stay in focus as the bland scenery changed. He leaned against Error, closing his eye sockets. He felt… tired.

“No! Ink!” The voice sounded drowned out- too far away and muffled. “INK!”

The darkness was welcoming.

* * *

_ Drip…  _

_ Drip…  _

_ Drip…  _

_ Drip…  _

The steady sound was the first thing he registered. It was calm and assuring- like the liquid that seemed to surround him.

The sensations that followed those two things weren’t nearly as pleasant.

He groaned- his voice small and barely audible. The only thing he could do to voice the numbing pain. It was a chore to open his eye sockets- they felt so heavy.

“... Ink?”

He managed to make a small noise of acknowledgment.

“Oh thank the stars.” The voice sighed. It took a few moments for him to realize that it was Dream’s voice. Steps walked closer, and a hand rested on his skull. There was something in between his skull and the hand. He wasn’t sure if it was on them, or on him. “I’m so glad it worked.”

He made a small questioning noise, but Dream simply rubbed his skull.

“You should rest, Ink.” He said softly, his voice warm and soft. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here when you wake up again.”

He didn't need to be told twice. Sleep was practically begging for him to return. He let out a small sigh as he did so, relaxing.


End file.
